Saturday, January 05, 2008

Gazprom Neft President Alexander Dyukov and LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov have set up a joint venture called Regional Development Oil and Gas Company.

State owned Gazprom Neft will hold a 51% of State owned and LUKoil the remaining 49%.

"The joint venture will focus on acquiring rights for subsurface use, geological survey of subsurface areas, exploration and production of hydrocarbons, field development, implementation of infrastructure-related projects, transportation and marketing of produced hydrocarbon materials."

The joint Gazprom Neft and LUKoil press release was silent on what services and what assets Regional Development would be most interested in or who would head the new company.

It was reported earlier, however, that the joint venture would only be working at undeveloped fields in the Timan-Pechoraoil and gas province in Eastern Siberia and the Caspian.

Meanwhile, Gazprom is considering acquiring licenses for subsurface resources in the Russian Far East and in Kyrgyzstan.

Also discussed at the meeting were the results of the geological exploration of Vietnam's continental shelf and the company's future plans in this region.

As yet, the company has not announced a final decision on the Far East and Kyrgyzstan licenses, although it generally makes such announcements only before the auctions for specific resource rights.

In May 2003, Gazprom signed a 25-year agreement with the Kyrgyz government on cooperation in the gas sector. In May 2007 the two sides signed an agreement under which Gazprom will conduct geological exploration at several locations on Kyrgyz territory.

In September 2000, Gazprom signed a contract with the Vietnamese oil and gas corporation Petrovietnam for exploration and extraction rights to block N112 of Vietnam's continental shelf. In August 2007, Vietgazprom, the operating company of Gazprom and Petrovietnam, struck a commercially viable flow of natural gas during testing of its first exploration well at the block.

State owned Petrovietnam reported VND143 Trn. (US$8.8 Bn.) in revenue for the first 9 months of 2007 up 4% over the same period in 2006.

The company generated US $6 Bn. from exporting 11.6 Mn. tonnes of crude oil over the period.

So far this year, Vietnam's leading oil producer inked six contracts with overseas partners to explore for off-shore oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Tonkin, and six other deals in Peru, Cuba, Indonesia and Tunisia.

PetroVietnam has also discovered new oil and gas reserves in the Dong Do and Bao Vang fields.

The company also aimed to offer shares for public owebershipin several subsidiaries this quarter, including: PV Gas North, PV Gas South, DMC, PVE, PVC, PVTrans, PVFCCo and PV Nghe An Construction JSC.

PetroVietnam’s has also set up a deal this year with the Indonesian state-run oil and gas Pertamina and the Petroliam Nasional Bhd of Malaysia (Petronas) to form a Joint Venture to extract resources from Randu Gunting in the East Java province, which is estimated to contain a reserve of 600 million oil barrels and 1.7 trillion cubic meters of gas.

In October PetroVietnam also allocated US$6 billion to the construction of a second refinery and petrochemical complex in Tinh Gia District of Thanh Hoa Province - construction should start in 2008.

"PetroVietnam will contribute between US$1.8 - 2 billion or 30 per cent of the combined capital needed to build the complex," Dinh La Thang, Chairman of PetroVietnam’s Board announced.

"To further satisfy the domestic markets’ needs for crude oil for the next 30 -years and into the long-term, a deal was signed with Netherlands’ Trafigura, as well as Swiss-based oil trader Glencore," Thang added.

Billionaire Poju Zabludowicz, lives in London. He has donated £70,000 to the Conservative party over the past three years. He is also one of the financial supporters of the Conservative Friends of Israel, which has also given to the party.

Zabludowicz, 55, born in 1953 in Helsinki, Finland, heads the Tamares Group, which has its headquarters in Liechtenstein and has an international property portfolio, including hotels and casinos in Las Vegas. He is also a member of the European Advisory Board of Citigroup, the Board of Directors of GEMS (an Asia Pacific private equity fund) and the Advisory Board of Stratos Ventures - email him at poju@tamares.com

According to Electoral Commission records, Tamares provided £15,000 for Cameron’s leadership campaign in 2005 and has donated £55,000 to Conservative funds in 2006 and 2007.

Zabludowicz has also provided funds for the Conservative Friends of Israel, which in turn has donated nearly £30,000 to the Tory party.

Zabludowicz father, Shlomo, was an Auschwitz survivor, who moved to Finland and later built up the Israeli arms company Soltam. He later diversified into the manufacture of cooking utensils and into property investments.

After Shlomo’s death in 1994, his son took over the business and most of the defence interests were sold. Most of the family fortune is now in property, although Zabludowicz still owns a company in the United States that manufactures training ammunition. Zabludowicz is understood to be nondomiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

Interestingly Larry tells Lord Patel he is also a Non Exec of the computer gambling software company Cyberview Technology along with the Chairman Sir Michael Wilkes KCB, CBE who served in the British Army for 35 years reaching the rank of a 4 star General - including Director of Special Forces. On leaving the Army in 1995, he was appointed Governor and Commander in Chief of the Island of Jersey where he served until 2000. Since that time he has become Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of C. I. Traders Limited, a broadly based property and retail company which is the largest employer in the Channel Islands. He takes an interest in the finance industry and is Chairman of Chiltern Holdings (Jersey) Ltd. He maintains his interest in Middle Eastern affairs through his Chairmanship of Britam Defence Ltd. "..a special force in the oil and gas industry." To those who are interested in this sort of thing this website is the sort of website they will find..er..interesting.His wife, Anita, an interior designer and former art student from Newcastle upon Tyne, (Picture Victoria Miro, Dr Luigi Maramotti, Anita Zabludowicz and Iwona Blazwick at the launch in Venice of MaxMara Women’s Art Prize - Winner Announcement February 2006 ) is an avid collector of contemporary art. The couple opened a gallery in north London last year to display their collection which is housed in a nineteenth century Methodist Chapel in Chalk Farm. A statue from her collection the Zabludowicz Collection, exhibited in Newcastle, (21. Sep - 20. Jan 08 / ends in 15 days BALTIC Centre for Contemporary ArtExhibition | M | North) of a Christ with an erection has given massive offense. ... "Newcastle born Anita Zabludowicz is one of the UK’s most exciting and innovative art collectors. BALTIC presents a selection of work from her extraordinary international collection"

Conservative Friends of Israel has given to a number of Conservative constituency associations, particularly in the run-up to the last election. The organisation, which has given £29,000 to the Tories between 2003-06, is not required to reveal its financial backers. It has targeted constituencies where sitting Labour MPs have been senior figures in Labour Friends of Israel.

Quite how or why I woke upon the floor behind a couch in a hospitality lounge at the RCA Dome with Melissa and Tamburlaine, 2 noisy but (very) friendly wannabe Colts cheer Leaders on Wednesday morning 2nd January 3 days after the Tennessee Titans beat the Colts in their last game at the RCA Dome is something best left alone.

Sufficient to say that these two ladies had, with the help of an old Indian remedy that Tamburlaine's dad makes up (out of Wild Turkeys apparently), a sort of deep brown hot choking liquid best washed down with spring water and plenty of ice. Rubbed on it can be very efective too .. and licked off even.

...and Dan Lugar and Mitch Daniels were giving the 3,400 soldiers a rousing send off ... and the 3,400 families, wives, mothers sweethearts many of hwom will not see their loved one again..time to weep.

Well we bump into Dan and Mitch ..."Lord Patel !" exclaims Mitch ..."Why haven't see you since the Seminar in Purdue last year that Dan held (the Richard G. Lugar-Purdue Summit on Energy Security held on on Purdue's campus in West Lafayette, Indiana August 2006) see Post.

Dan shhook my hand and eyed my friends , magically grown by two more who had attached themselves to us.

Well this went down well with the girls and magically a couple more came over and in minutes we were ensconced in some swell apartment where these girls used to do massages for the guy Randall Tobiaswho Madame Palfrey helped - he wrote the book about cheese and was a big cheese at Lilly.

Well the rest is a blur of newspapers / TV / Radio / quips from Dan and Mitch and may not be in the right order...

It all started when when Tammy was ( only a short girl but "big" in many ways) was easing the old collar bone - or some bone and I was reading ...

US special forces snatch squads are on standby to seize or disable Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in the event of a collapse of government authority or the outbreak of civil war following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

The troops, augmented by volunteer scientists from America's Nuclear Emergency Search Team organisation, are under orders to take control of an estimated 60 warheads dispersed around six to 10 high-security Pakistani military bases.

"Is this right ? " I asked Dan who raised an eybrow - you know the way he does... "well...let's say plans are always in place....." and went back to what looked like sleep.

Well I don't know what happened then but time, as they say had passed. Next minute (?) we were watching Breaking News on CNN - a sombre voiced guy with a beard and popping eyes was saying President Bush would address the nation from the White House at the unprecdented time of 1.00 am EST.

The next minute there was Dubya , in the fierce glare of the Kleig lights.. " Citizens, this is your War President , today US forces took control of the Pakistani Nukular arsenal at Islam is Bad . The world is safe in our ...er...hands .." with this he raised his right hand whih was bearing one of those nifty golf gloves used to correct your swing by inserting weights. He shuffled off grinning whilst the Press Bayed...Mr president FOX is reporting 700 dead ... BBC say 14 sites have been attacked ...The Chinese say B1 bombers from Diego Garcia ....

Well the rest is a jumble as Dan's phone went , as did he... FOX said the Marines had attacked 3 sites with the newly deployed Osprey 4 out of six which crashed on the way there.. ( having forgotten the one that crashed undertaking an emergency landing the last Sunday in October at at the Highway Draw Bridge, on Highway 70 IS Beaufort, NC 28516 heading for Cherry point Air base... seen by civilians and staff at the National Coat Guard ,Atlantic Beach, NC 28512 - hushed up and hauled away - never to be reported)...

Melissa again with this Wild Turkey thing and I was dreaming ...or was I ... maybe it was "Enchanted" all over again, but I could see spinning Headlines ...

Well evidently the shit hit the fan and the TV screen was full of jabbering voices. Did this mean the Taliban had a missile had someone not counted right , were the figures wrong.

Then the pizza guy arrived and seeing this wild trukey stuff decided to join in started teling us of his time in Eye Raq...

The we see a sombre looking Olmerde telling us that the Paki sooper dooper Nuki paki missile had been fired ? Exploded and tracked and maybe aimed ? at the US sixth Fleet and IT COULD HAVE REACHED TEL AVIV !!!

Papers full of pictures of terrist activity globally (see pic)

Obama ...stuttering ..." calm nerves "...clarification "...Hillary " we always said we shoudl move more troops to Iraq".... Dybya "I am a war President" .. Riots in Islam is Bad again and again ... Gordon Brown had a bad head cold. Angela Merkel ahd a bad head cold.

Fred Thompson saying over and over ..."This is why we needed to keep Gitmo open" .. and his poll numbers jumped.

Step forward the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

Headlines agian ...was this Saturday already ? Constitution suspended. President for Life ...was that Dubya or Mushariff ... or even Sarkozy ?

Anyway the next thing I know is the ER and someone looking with a pencil torch thing and muttering about rebel yell.

Was it all a dream ... Maybe it was. Tom Brady q'backing for the Patriots against the Giants all over again . he plays a 55 yard running pass, Moss Fumbles ... the crowd gasps. The clock is ticking.

Brady stands cool.

HE PLAYS THE SAME GODDAM PLAY

AND THIS TIME IT GODDAM WORKS AND RANDY MOSS TOUCHES DOWN AND THE GIANTS WEEP

That beats Jerry Rice's TD passes of the San Francisco 49ers in 12 games in 1987, a strike season and Brady edges out Payton Manning for TD passes.

Funny thing they blew up the WTC once ...didn't work ...they tried again.That time it worked.

Saddam's missiles disappearded in mysterious circumstances. So did one of Mushariff's

Hatf VI (Shaheen II), with a range of 1,555 miles, can carry "nuclear and conventional warheads with high accuracy," a Pakistan military statement said after a test firing April 28th last year - whilst everyone watched.

Talk of the Draft...the Winds of War

Not a word of the above is (or could possibly be true). Quite simply these things just do not happen.

Friday, January 04, 2008

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the fastest selling commercial airplane of all time has had a bumpy birth. Corporate sources are still holding to their (revised) Q4 '08 delivery date. Production of the first three prototypes on the Everett "Lego Line" assembling 30,000 bits and pieces from 1,200 suppliers from 400 subcontractors in 17 countries is well underway, the first (closest) for their "first flight" demonstration and the second two for static and fatigue testing.

Vietnam Airlineshas just announced an order for 4 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, and will lease another 8 from Vietnam Aircraft Leasing bringing the total to 802.

British Airways announced finalising their order announced earlier in the year for 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, a deal valued at some US$4.4 billion (£2.2bn) at list prices.BA has options for 18 more 787 aircraft and purchase rights for an additional 10.

This has sealed a record sales year for Boeing who have reported an industry record of 1,413 firm commercial plane orders for 2007,Airbus have yet to issue final figures.

For each of the last three years Boeing and Airbus have posted more than 1,800 net orders combined.

Boeing said earlier yesterday it had delivered 441 commercial aircraft in 2007, its best performance in six years and up 11 percent from 2006 although Airbus had delivered 401 by end November.

Lord King Chairman of the Bank of England. Speech at the Mansion House 16th June 2007...

"Our central view remains that inflation will fall back this year as the rises in domestic gas and electricity prices last year drop out of the annual comparison, and the recent cuts in prices feed through to household bills."

The UK's fourth-largest energy provider, and sponsor of the UK cricket team, has announced an "average" rise of 17.2 pct for gas prices and an average rise of 12.7 pct for electricity.

In a novel pricing move, npower have announced regional price variations (allegedly relating to transport costs - which is bollocks) this will mean rises ranging from 15% to almost 24% for some npower customers.

Jenny Saunders, Chief executive of the leading fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) pointed out that, “Even in mild winters around 24,000 people, mostly pensioners, die of cold related illnesses - a shameful track record in a modern country such as ours.” Contact them for advice for yourself or a relative on the hotline : 08457 277 200 or visit their website

Should you seek an explanation from Lord King and the BOE how they, and their serried ranks of Oxbridge double firsts in PPE, economists, econometricians, money jugglers, and forecasters so misread the global and (more importantly) the EU energy market you might contact them at enquiries@bankofengland.co.uk or even enquiries press@bankofengland.co.uk Lord Patel has ... and he will keep you informed of the consequences.

FOOTNOTE - After a public vote in Ensdorf, Saarland, Germany, with a turnout of 70%, a large majority (70 percent) of the voters rejected RWE's plans for a new hard-coal-fired state-of-the-art and clean power plant with a total investment volume of €2.2 Bn in November.

In a memorable but often forgotten moment in the 2000 Presidential campaign , Andy Hiller, a smartass political reporter for locally based WHDH-TV in Boston on November 5th 1999 asked Texan Governor George Bush to name the leaders of Chechnya, Taiwan, India and Pakistan.

Stumbling George got out the name of Lee as the Taiwanese leader ( it was then Lee Teng-hui) He could not name the others.

George needed a breather. "Wait, wait, is this 50 questions?"

"No, it's four questions of four leaders in four hot spots, " Hiller tried to put his victim at ease.

"The new Pakistani general, he's just been elected - not elected, this guy took over office. It appears this guy is going to bring stability to the country and I think that's good news for the sub-continent," Dubya gamely - and correctly added.

His tantalising interlocutor insisted: "Can you name him?"

"General. I can't name the general. General" was all George had to offer. "Can you name the general who is in charge of Pakistan?" Hiller persisted , inquiring about Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who had seized control of the country a year earlier.

Karen Hughes , Bush's campaign spokeswoman brushed off criicism of the governor's performance. "The person who is running for president is seeking to be the leader of the free world, not a Jeopardy contestant,"

Surely it is a paradox that this cocky, nuke packing, ex (?) general who strutted round Washington this summer telling George he needed him, more than he needed George, is going to have more effect on the 2008 Presidential race.

Lord Patel says that there are surprises in store for the US electorate as events are played out in Pakistan over the coming weeks and months.

Having carefullly parachuted in their carpetbagging Bhutto and seen he liquidated, the US Foreign Policy options get narrower and narrower every day.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

In response to an FOI request the Department of Health released figures that showed the number of available beds in Suffolk NHS hospitals has decreased by 20% from 1,501 in 1996/7 to 1,194 in 2006/07.

This exceeds the national (well...English) decline in hospital bed numbers.

In 1996/97, there were a total of 198,848 hospital beds available in England. This has now decreased by 16% to 167,019 beds.

As a conseqence bed occupancy levels at West Suffolk Hospital topped 98% during the first 9 months of this year, despite infection control guidelines recommending a maximum of 85%.(Figures obtained by East Anglian Daily Times by FOI request) On the Thursday before Christmas the main Ipswich hospital was only taking "blue light" patients and out patients were being turned away.

The figures, which only relate to daily levels at 2pm, show that the Bury St Edmunds hospital ran at an average of 98.8% bed occupancy for the first three months of 2007.

This then fell to an average of 98.3% over the first nine months of this year.

Gwen Nuttall, the bossy, impeturbable , unreasoning, penny pinching, box ticking, forceful Lancastrian, no-nonsense director of operations at the hospital trust for the last 4 years , described the process of bed occupancy as "fluid" and added there had been a “significant drop” in the cases of the infection Clostridium difficile. (see below - this is a lie whichever way you cut it) The trust's own FAQ about the bacterium does not mention overcrowding as a factor in it's spread.

“Having fewer beds does not mean there is a higher risk of infection."Ho.Ho.Ho.

Which makes one wonder why the national guidelines suggest that it does.

The detailed figures are available on the national reports at the Health Protection Agency website but it is evident in the figures given by the Minister in response to the enquiry from Dicky Spring there has been no significant improvement at Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 347 cases in 2005, 483 in 2006, and283 in the first 6 months of this year.Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had 400 in 2005 422 in 2006 and evidently things have got worse with 262 in only the first 6 months of 2007.

This also supports the Health Protection Agency report showing a 13% rise in cases of Clostridium difficile (C-diff) at the West Suffolk Hospital at Bury St Edmunds between April and June this year.

This was highlighted by and publicised by Gill Malik, a cleaner at West Suffolk Hospital speaking as a national executive committee member of Unison. Gill who has 20 years' experience as a hospital cleaner, said the number of cleaners on wards was cut a number of years ago and had never recovered.

She said once there were five housekeeping staff per ward, three of whom were dedicated to cleaning. The trust policy was to have 3 dedicated cleaners for every 2 wards.

You can take the opportunity now to register early for the AIPAC Policy Conference 2008 | June 2-4, 2008 • Washington, D.C. with a $399.00 Early Bird Special (Valid until Feb 28, 2008.)

Held in March last year this offers the wildest show in town - last year we had crowd of around 5,000. Many of them were American Jews, of course, but the evangelical Christian community made a really strong showing in the circus tent. For those feeling apocalyptic about the current (and everlasting) turmoil in the Middle East, pastor John Hagee was there to greet them. Of the many prominent speakers at the conference, Hagee got one of the most enthusiastic receptions.

"The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awoken!" Hagee proclaimed, taking the microphone at the opening dinner reception on Sunday. The electrified crowd -- most of it Jewish -- roared in support, pounding on the tables. Hagee went on to declare the United Nations a "political brothel" and asserted that Israel must never give up land. He agreed with Israeli writer Dore Gold that granting part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians would be "tantamount to turning it over to the Taliban." And, after rebuking Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he led the crowd in a chant of "Israel lives!" urging them to "shout it from the mountaintops!" (Full speech transcript here - " unmissable "- Lord Patel - "unfucking believable" Toni Fabuloso) *****

Be a part of the most exclusive pro-Israel event in New York City by emailing etopolosky@aipac.org without delay.

or even ...

Join the San Antonio community for the AIPAC San Antonio Annual Event Dessert Reception. Past speakers have included Ambassador Dennis Ross and Ambassador Dore Gold. The event will also recognize the San Antonio members of the 110th Congressional delegation for their committment to the State of Israel and the US-Israel relationship.

***** "There are millions of evangelical Christians across America who consider the Jewish people the apple of Gods eye, who see you as the chosen people, a cherished people and a covenant people with an eternal covenant that will stand forever. Ladies and gentlemen of AIPAC its a new day in America. The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awakened; there are 50 million Christians standing up and applauding the State of Israel."

Tesla Motors chief gives his New Year message and it is GOOD ... (BTW co-founder Martin Eberhard no longer has any active role at Tesla Motors)

“The electric vehicle revolution is critically important to the world, and is way overdue.”

"Our goal is to begin full series production of the Roadster in Spring of 2008, albeit with a few components, such as the transmission, that will need to be upgraded at a later date. The transmissions in these early cars will be reliable and safe, though they will not yet meet the original performance spec for acceleration. The upgrade that we will provide at a later date will be free of charge to our existing customers."

"Tesla is also hard at work on model 2, the mid-size luxury sports sedan, which will be unveiled in the first half of next year. While the Roadster will be produced in quantities of one to two thousand per year, we are targeting over 10,000 units per year for the sedan and a price substantially lower than that of the Roadster. Looking at the longer term, Model 3 will be even lower cost and aim for an order of magnitude greater volume than model 2."

"Over time, there will be many models, as the long term plan is to build Tesla into one of the great car companies of the 21st century. Tesla is set on a path of independent growth, with an IPO somewhere along the way. There are no plans or even discussions to sell the company.

The overarching Tesla Motors goal remains unchanged from the day that I first funded Tesla (see the Secret Tesla Master Plan), which is to do everything possible to increase the number of electric miles driven. This is why Tesla is in discussions with several major car companies about providing them with a full electric drivetrain, which includes the battery, power electronics, motor, system management software, and even (groan) the transmission."

Lord Patel was chatting to Bob Mueller, Director of the FBI and suggested after he had helpfully commented ("Quite brilliant " he actually said) on Lord Patel's post on Monday, October 29, 2007 Where are they Now? No 452. D B Cooper . Amazing Pictures that the FBI should take the public into their confidence and release pictures and information from the case on its website in the hope of resolving the identity and the fate of the parachuting passenger known as Dan Cooper.

Well they have done it. Don't call Bob or Lord Patel (both still recovering after the Times Square bash) but if you have any information the FBI have asked us to tell you to pass on on any information by e-mailing the Seattle field office at fbise@leo.gov

Bob is offering no reward.

PS : He remained very tight lipped about asking for help on investigating the lies and deceit about 9/11. STill it's a start citizens.

Josef Carl Engressia, Jr. was born blind in Richmond, Virginia, USA, on May 25th, 1949, he was an early phone phreak. Seeking fun he played with the phone buttons and had learnt by the age of 7 , ( he is said to have had perfect pitch ), that he was able to whistle a perfect 2600 hertz into a telephone, the tone that (then) c0ntrolled long distance phone dialling... and still does in some places eg: most of Africa.

By the late 1960's when the hippy cuture was ramping up, he was at the University of South Florida (he had an IQ of 171 - whatever that means) and showed his pals the joys of free phoning - well it was free to him - he was the instrument they hired at a US$1 a pop.

At the age of 22 his remarkable skills were featured in an Esquire article by Roy Rosenbaum "Secrets of the Little Blue Box" October 1971(not available online) and "phone phreaking" took off. Savvy tecchies built sound boxes, others used keyboards, tape recordings - Then it was discovered that the giveaway whistle with Cap'n' Crunch cereals did the trick.It is said that a guy calling himself Cap'n Crunch called John Draper discovered this trick. These whistles can often be found for sale on e-Bay.

The telco's were naturally upset and alarmed - hundreds of thousands of dollars were being siphoned away - some of them by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs - who allegedly sold "blue boxes".. featured in a comic and who went on to modest success in the computer and phone bizniz.

Draper (website) ended up working for Apple and after being pulled for wire fraud wrote Draper wrote EasyWriter, ( a word play on the then cult film Easy Rider ) the first word processor for the Apple II, and( according to legend ) it was jandwritten in 1979 while serving nights in the Alameda County Jail. It was also sold to IBM when they launched their PC. (It was also, compared with the then leading product Wordstar from Micropro, a bag of shite.)

Joe was arrested in Memphis, Tenn. and claiming this was a stunt , he went on to become a paid advisor to telcos on security.

Then in 1988 claiming he was abused by a nun at a blind school, which added to the woes at home as his itinerant dad, a school photographer and mum often came to blows.

He changed his name legally to Joybubbles and founded the Church of Eternal Childhod Motto " Re-envisioning a new past in the present is important for our future".His Minneapolis City Phone book listing was "Zxzyx" - the last in the book - a colleague of Lord Patel's from Edinburgh days , a Polish refugee and fine botanist enjoyed the same position - his surname was Zylinsky.

He recorded tales of Stories 'n' Stuff on his voice mail which can be found on the web. (see below)He died August 8, 2007 a lonely, confused, childlike figure , Joybubbles apparently never grew older than 5.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

In 2006, more than 7.2 million passenger cars were sold in China, more than in Japan and second only to the United States. In 2007 sales have risen 20% to 8.7 Mn.

The demand is met principally by domestic manufacturers, many of them small and state run - now in a significant move, orchestrated by Beijing, to consoldidate the industry , Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), one of China's largest car groups, and their rival Nanjing Auto (owners of the MG brand) have announced a merger.

SAIC have partnerships with General Motors and Volkswagen and Nanjing will be shedding their partnership with Fiat who are building up their brand with Chery Automobile in the Central province of Ansui but will continue development of trucks and commercial vehicles with Nanjing.

The deal will also unite the two parts of Rover sold last year - SAIC introduced the Roewe 750 to the Chinese market last year based on Rover 75 technology (and plant imported from UK) and is priced to compete with Toyota's locally-made Camry.

SAIC sold 1.25 million vehicles in the first 10 months of 2007 compared with Nanjing Auto's sales of 79,196 vehicles - who have just introduced their uprated MG 7 2 seater sports model.

Plans are in hand apparently to boost UK production and to expand into Europe to develop an international brand and marketplace.

French group PSA, in a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor, sold 200,000 Citroens and Peugeots vehicles in China in 2006, and expect to sell a total of 450,000 units in 2008 and 2009.JAPAN

Meanwhile for Japanese manufacturers , production is booming , the world's largest car maker , , Toyota built 803,663 cars and light trucks in December , up 9.2% from a year earlier. Honda’s output rose 10 % to 363,046. Toyota global output rose 10 % to 9.018 million vehicles in 2006 with record US $11.8 billion profits - In 2007 they plan for global output of 9.42 million vehicles and sales of 9.34 million units.

Japanese carmakers are looking to boost production overseas to counter currency fluctuations in Europe and the US and to deliver to emerging markets. Toyota opened a factory in St Petersburg, Russia, last week and Nissan will also open one in 2009..

Nissan, the third-largest carmaker, increased global production by 15% to 335,088 last month.

It is worth remembering that number of cars sold worldwide totaling 53 million in 2007 (ish)....also a little reminder for cost conscious tree huggers in the US - Toyota dominates the hybrid car market. 1 out of every 2 hybrids sold last month (Nov) was a Prius. 4 out of every 5 were from Toyota or Lexus.

Honda has retired the Insight and will soon retire the Accord, Nissan limits sales of the Altima Hybrid to only 8 states. Ford offers the Escape/Mariner - soon to be rebadged Mazda Tribute , incidentally this has a ticket of MSRP: $27,260 the equivalent model with standard engine of the same size / trim etc., -MSRP: US $18,770INDIA

Indias' Tata Group ( Market Cap US$76.3 Bn) is said to be the front runner in the purchase of the Ford Luxury motor vehicle group including Jaguar and Range Rover.They are said to be preferred bidders and have edged out rival Indian manufacturer Mahindra and US private equity group One Equity Partners - Pirelli is currently one of their portfolio.

Tata are also about to introduce the the ‘one lakh car’ (100,000 rupeees approx US$2,500) which could could do for rural Indians what Henry Ford’s Model T did for early-twentieth-century Americans or Andre Citroen’s 2CV did for impoversished rural French farmers after World War II.

This "peoples" car, the brain child of group founder Ratan Tata will be revealed on January 10th the New Delhi Auto Expo motor show.

“I hope to make a contribution to making life safer for them (the masses), said the reclusive tycoon Ratan Tata who refuses to retire.

“That’s what drove me – a man on a two-wheeler with a child standing in front, his wife sitting behind, add to that the wet roads – a family in potential danger,” he said.

Carlos Ghosn of Renault, is also said to be talking to Bajaj Auto,India’s second largest motor cycle manufacturerabout a US$3,000 car (1.2 lakhs) - although this was not a 4 wheelere but would ..."take forward our skills and cost structure as a two and three wheeler manufacturer...under four meters long ... and use a unique breakthrough engine technology” Bajaj said in October they planned to unveil that "technology" at India’s motor show in New Delhi next January. (Which sounds like a lot of bullshit)

Currently the cheapest car on the roads of India is the venerable 23-year old 800cc Maruti Suzuki priced at Rs220,000.

Which probably means more air pollution - a problem which will only get worse as the Government haven't kept pace on the technological front where refineries are concerned - low sulphur content diesel is needed desperately. Not a problem restricted to India.

"The most striking change of the past year in the markets is the sharp rise in gold (32%) and oil prices (57.5%) and the 11.5% drop in the value of the dollar against the euro. The past year also saw the end of economic optimism in the media as the housing bubble finally burst."

He quotes David Seaton on the FT journo ( and Bilderburg visitor) Martin Wolf

"If we examine what Martin Wolf is saying logically, not even really reading between the lines, this supremely informed man is declaring that he knows that, before they ever pay Scandinavian like income taxes, drive small cars and wear sweaters around the house on cold winter days, the elites of the United States will create a police state and go to war endlessly to dominate the resource rich areas of the world."

It is frightening that these people write (it appears) endlessly about the threat from ex Arkansas Governor Huckabee who is several shed loads short of a full load. He has no chance of the nomination and is unelectable... for more reasons than it is worth enumerating.

As worrying, and something Mr Hunt never touches on is the future cost of food - this, driven by world demand from the emerging economies, droughts, crop failures and the politically inspired drive and publically subsidised rush into fuels from crops will lead, with higher housing costs (rents / mortgages / land) to higher inflation (already concealed by the Fed failing to re cord M3 and plainly juggling the COL indices.

Nothing so far deflects the serried ranks of advisers to Lord Patel from the firm belief that Fred Thompson will be the next President of the United States.

Perhaps looming on the horizon is a worse fear expressed early in the year over world coal supplies for energy by Shaun Chamberlin at the Oil Drum .

The general consensus view on coal supplies has long been that we have hundreds of years of the stuff left, and that oil and gas depletion are the pressing concerns. However, dissenting voices are emerging. Canadian geologist David Hughes recently claimed that "peak coal looks like it's occurred in the Lower 48 (US states)", and the consensus position on coal is also called into serious question by the Coal: Resources and Future Production report soon to be released by the Energy Watch Group in Germany.

For example did you know ...the US has now switched from being a net exporter to a net importer of steam coal and arguing that total (volumetric) US coal production will peak between 2020 and 2030.

Only 15% of coal produced globally is exported, the rest being consumed domestically, Australia is responsible for almost 40% of global coal exports. The UK relies for 65% of it's coal on imports. Read on >>>>>

...which is why there are never less than 50 coalers lined up outside the port Newcsatle in Australia at any time and when there is a storm that disrupts supplies it has global ramifications on supplies, stocks, availability and prices. see previous post Saturday, June 09, 2007Chinese Coal carriers grounded off Newcastle,NSW, Australia

Power station coal, excluding shipping cost, for delivery within three months posted its second weekly gain, settling at $89.69 a metric ton in the week ended Dec. 28, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index, an Asian benchmark calculated each Friday. Prices are up 85 cents from the previous week and near the US$89.76 record set earlier this month (nbspNEWC Index up from US$67.72 in September).

``It's going to be a situation of restricted supply throughout 2008, so that will keep spot prices near record levels,'' said Gavin Wendt, a senior resources analyst at Fat Prophets Funds Management in Sydney. ``The miners just can't get the stuff out and onto a ship.''

The queue of ships waiting outside Newcastle port to load coal reached a record 79 in June after storms disrupted operations. There were 34 vessels waiting to load as of midnight, Dec. 30.

Chinese coal imports rose 39 % to 46.68 million tons in the first 11 months of 2007.

Final Cheering message..

The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA ) projcts global energy needs growing 55% between 2005 and 2030, ( annual rate of 1.8%,) with almost half of it in China and India. Despite political;;y based efforts to boost the use of biofuels worldwide, the IEA says fossil fuels will remain the dominant source of primary energy, accounting for 84% of the overall increase in demand between 2005 and 2030. (*See Hillarys crazy energy plans)

Electricity use will nearly double, with most new plants burning coal. (In the UK E.ON is to build the first new UK coal-fired power station since 1974, at Kingsnorth in Kent. RWE Npower wants to follow suit with two more, in Essex and Northumberland; Scottish and Southern Energy will submit plans for a plant near Pontefract. ) Aging and less-productive oil fields and resistance among major oil exporters to build spare oil capacity will make crude oil and natural gas more expensive and prompt developing countries to turn increasingly to coal as fuel.

The IEA also says global oil demand will hit 116 million barrels a day by 2030, up from about 85 million barrels a day now.

If you do nothing else this holiday find a young, bewitching bubbly blonde and go and see this fillum. The usual thing .. boy meets girl, falls in love and they live happily ever after.... PG : only for those who can handle virtuous unreality.

Best to take your 6 1/2 yr old bubbly blonde grand daughter for greatest enjoyment.

It is the end of the Year - is it the end of Civilisation ?(as we know it)

Benazir Bhutto murdered at the second attempt ... and Dame Lady Jane Baroness Pauline Neville Jones hasn't uttered a word, been seen on any TV screen in the Western world, nor writen any articles, been quoted .......

Or, a more sinister thought ..... Has there been a coup in the BBC newsroom ?

The company announced it has completed the necessary technical and economic evaluation that will see the plant, one of the area’s largest employers, continue operating until at least 2016.

Hinkley Point B has produced some 215 Terrawatt hours (TWh) of generation since first supplying the National Grid in 1976.say Avg 7 Tw a year, so that's an extra (say 35 Tw hrs - but is it ?)

Hinkley Point B and Hunterston nuclear power stations were closed last year due to cracks in boiler tubes , this resulted (between them) in 6.7 Terra watt hrs loss. Currently operating in a range around 60% load and they are working to achieve ~70% load in a phased process over the next financial year(Interim report 07/8 see chart below of total output)

The Boiler closure unit issue at Hartlepool and Heysham 1 reported in October will have a significant impact on full year output (probably of the order of 9 Tw hrs) - there is no indication when they will re-start.

Hinkley has continuing graphite crack problems. Industry insiders who say that large-scale engineeering projects will be required to attempt to make the reactor core safe. These include bracing the core in one of two different methods using extra steelwork. This may affect the reactivity of the reactor. Another problem of judging the spread of sub-surface cracks in the graphite bricks composing the reactor core is known as 'Eddie-Currents'. This technique would require adding iron filings to the graphite and putting a high voltage charge through the reactor core. As the graphite is probably very pure the iron may unduly contaminate it.

Keen eyed observers of charts will note that in the first six months, production was down - this will be amplifed in the second half - the extension of Hinckley Point's operating life (with it's recent history and time taken to reach full power) whilst welcome both to BE shareholders and the nation looks worryingly like a hasty Band Aid on an uncertain energy policy, buying a bit more time to sit round twiddling thumbs in Whitehall.

Jim Duffy is the Stop Hinkley Coordinator - 07968 974805 who are campaigning against a new plant at Hinckley Point.

IRONY CORNER : Hinckley Point is a windy shop .. ideal for a wind farm. PLans for an onshore project were turned down because of dangers of flying broken blades hitting neaby nuclear reactor.viz :

The submitted application, Environmental Statement, Addendum & Corrigendum fail to provide adequate information for the Local Planning Authority to determine whether the operation and physical proximity of individual turbines to the licensed operational boundary of the adjoining nuclear installation would compromise existing levels of safety within the nuclear installation. Accordingly, the proposal would be contrary to Policy STR1 of the S&ENPJSPR and the requirements of the Health & Safety Executive & Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. (West Somerset Council website)

The New York Times today has a handy pull out 'n 'keep guide to the candidates standing in Iowa ... 2 points from 2 candidates expected to top the polls impressed as loony, ill considered, insupportable and guaranteed not to work.

1. ENERGY : Invest $150 Billion in 10 years to cut oil imports by 2/3 rds from 2030 projected levels. 1/3rd of the money to go toward developing alternative energy (Details WAPO May 24th 2006 the original proposal used 2025 as the base year)

2. TAXES : Eliminate all Federal Income and Payroll taxes and adopt a "fair tax" of 23% as a national sales tax on everything except education - the poor could have a monthly federal payback on spending up to the poverty level.The author told a meeting of the Christian Alliance ..." how the scheme would make honest sinners out of the “drug dealers, prostitutes, and gamblers” by making them pay the sales tax on their purchases like everyone else."

One is the policy of Senator Hillary Clinton and the other from Mike Huckabee

More Holiday reading

PS Well worth the read ..."New Jersey born Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild , 44 (third wife of Sir Evelyn) talked exclusively with Portfolio.com about business, pleasure, politics, and society—especially her devotion to the idea of President Hillary...."Hillary will be good for America."..."It'll be nice to know America is in the hands of someone with her character and her experience and her vision for where we're going to take the country."Conde Nast Portfolio Magazine October 2007

Bilawal "Billy" Bhutto son of Benazir, who celebrated his 19th birthday on 21st September, a first year history student at Christ Church, Oxford, (He did his 'O' levels in Dubai at the Maktoum family owned Rashid School for Boys) was appointed chairman of the Pakistan People's Party yesterday.

The meeting of 22 of the senior members of the PPP agreed that Bilawal ( a Black Belt in Taekwondo) would share the role of chairman with his father Asif Ali Zardari, the well known and much admired adherent of participatory Jeffersonian democracy.